China's telecom authority has announced a series of measures to boost network expansion for the homebrewed 3G standard. This technology is also known as TD SCDMA.

China's three telecom carriers will spend 400 billion yuan over the next three years, building out their 3G mobile networks. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, or MIIT, says the TD SCDMA standard will receive support in 15 ways.

Su Jinsheng, official of MIIT, says, "the policies include fiscal support, investment in R&D, and an administrative green path. Also network construction, industry implementation and development for related sectors will be supported."

The announcement comes after the ministry handed out long-delayed 3G licenses earlier this month. China seeks to catch up with much of the world in introducing a technology that allows sophisticated multimedia and video services.

The government also aims to apply the technology to other sectors, so that more social resources will be activated. These include digital government management, emergency response, and urban facility upgrades. They are also hoping to use the technology to digitalize the rural areas, promote IT innovation and other improvements.

Zhu Hongren, official of MIIT, says, "developing 3G technology will help expand domestic demand. A large number of new economic sectors will benefit and new businesses will sprout. We can also expect more jobs to be created."

The three biggest operators, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom plan to spend a combined 170 billion yuan in 2009 alone. They have already put aside 120 billion for immediate use. Their ambition is to attract 50 million customers in three years' time. By then cities in the developed eastern provinces will all be covered with the network.

(CCTV January 23, 2009)